'You're getting sacked in the morning'

Anti-McClaren chants and angry boos echoed around St James' Park at the end of another pitiful display by the home side.

Former England boss McClaren cut a beleaguered figure on the touchline, having arrived for the game amid speculation that defeat would spell the end of his tenure, which only began in the summer.

It is now five defeats in the six matches for Newcastle - who spent about £100m in the past two transfer windows but again find themselves labouring at the wrong end of the table.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Alan Shearer believes the 'whole club is a mess' at Newcastle United

After the display against the Cherries, few of their supporters would back the team to survive this one.

With just 10 Premier League matches remaining, will owner Mike Ashley choose to stick or twist?

Bad luck and lack of belief

Steven Taylor found the back of the net from a fine angle - unfortunately for him at the wrong end

Newcastle will point to a moment's misfortune in the first half that gifted the Cherries the lead, as central defender Taylor's attempt to cut out King's low cross instead diverted the ball into his own net.

But instead of pulling up their socks after that setback, Newcastle's players retreated into their shells.

McClaren's men created few clear-cut chances, with the best of those seeing French striker Emmanuel Riviere - making his first league start of the season - and Jonjo Shelvey go close with early strikes.

Artur Boruc's near-post block from Daryl Janmaat was the only time the visiting goalkeeper was called into serious action, and although Perez's late goal gave Newcastle hope, the players appeared to lack belief to get another.

Bournemouth set an example

Charlie Daniels scored a fine solo goal, but he was aided by poor Magpies defending

McClaren would probably like to know Eddie Howe's secret.

Earlier in the season the Cherries - pre-season favourites to go down - suffered successive heavy defeats against Manchester City and Tottenham. But they have since earned wins against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United and now find themselves 11 points clear of the drop-zone.

There is a strong team spirit instilled by Howe, which was evident once again at St James' Park.

The influence of Max Gradel, who only recently returned from a serious knee injury suffered in August, was integral to their success today.

He fed the ball to King that led to the own-goal and went close himself with a deflected shot that looped narrowly wide. King himself had one of his best games of the season, producing a confident finish to give his side a two-goal cushion.

For Howe, a manager with a huge future, he can just about relax in the knowledge that he has almost secured his side's Premier League future.

Man of the match - Max Gradel (Bournemouth)

Max Gradel pulled the strings in attack and was a constant threat down the left for the Cherries

Manager reaction

Newcastle boss Steve McClaren: "I'm very disappointed. That was definitely a poor performance and 'going down' material. The only positive is that we have 10 games to go.

"We have got to find the fighters in the team and the performance today did not epitomise that. We cannot play like that and hope to stay up.

Media playback is not supported on this device

McClaren criticises 'going down' performance

"But we are fortunate that we've got 10 games and that's enough. It's a four-team league now and we play everyone around us.

"There was a certain edginess and you could see that in our play. We lost our shape. Normally we are a good attacking team, but today we were poor on the ball. You can only say that the pressure got to them.

"I can't see any positives but we have to stick together as a staff and as a team, and fight."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "That's a big win for us and I thought it was thoroughly deserved. It was a bit nervy at the end but it was great to get a third goal to seal it.

"It was tighter perhaps than it should have been but I was very pleased with a great performance. We had a real threat about us going forward. It was great to see us score three away from home.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Newcastle 1-3 Bournemouth: Eddie Howe hails 'great week' for Cherries

"I think the crowd here can work one of two ways. We wanted to dominate the ball and thankfully we got on top.

"It's a good position to be in and we want to just finish the job that we have started. But we have some massive games to come and it's not over yet.

"It would mean everything for us [to stay up]. There's a lot of pressure on us but so far we are coping quite well."

The stats you need to know

The Cherries are unbeaten in all five of their away Premier League games in 2016 (W2 D3).

The Magpies suffered their first defeat at St James' Park since Boxing Day.

Matt Ritchie now has 25 assists in league football for Bournemouth, nine more than any other player at the club since he signed in January 2013.

King scored his first Premier League goal since his strike against Man United in December.

Taylor scored his first own goal in the Premier League since December 2006.

Newcastle's record of 24 points from 28 games is their lowest in Premier League history.

What now?

Perhaps that should read "where now?" for Newcastle. The Magpies - with McClaren at the helm or otherwise - are at title-chasing Leicester on Monday, 14 March.